Drawing on ideas from sociology, politics, anthropology and law as well as psychology, this book shows how abortion is linked to sexual behaviour and motherhood in the complex web of gender and power relations.

Mary Boyle is Head of the Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London. She has worked as a clinical psychologist and published widely on social influences on psychological and psychiatric theory.

Acknowledgements. Introduction: Psychology and Abortion. Abortion Legislation. The Abortion Debates: Mothrhood, Morality and the Sanctity of Life. The Abortion Debates: The Medical Profession and Abortion. Contraception and Abortion. The Experience of Abortion. Psychology, Abortion and Social Policy.